Combination cable lock

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a cable wound onto a reel, with one component of a separable combination lock device on the end thereof, the other component being carried on the reel housing. A ratchet wheel is secured to the reel, and a pawl is normally biased out of engagement with the ratchet to extend through an opening in the housing. When the lock components are engaged, the pawl is forced into engagement with the ratchet wheel whereby the cable may not be extended further.

United States Patent Hurwitt Sept. 23, 1975 1 COMBINATION CABLE LOCK2,933,915 4/1960 Gossner 70/49 3,611,760 10/1971 Muther 70/18 [76]Inventor- 3 Wood 3,670,535 6/1972 Stettner CI 211. 70/30 Rafael, Cahf.94901 [22] Filed: July 29, 1974 Primary ExaminerPaul R. Gilliam 1211Appl, NO.2 492,418

[52] US. Cl. .f. 70/30; 70/49; 70/76; 70/233 [51] Int. Cl. E05B 37/02;E05B 65/52; EOSB 67/06; EOSB 73/00 [58] Field of Search 70/18, 30, 49,76, 233; 1 292/288 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 639,19612/1899 Fehling; 70/49 673,612 5/1901 Appleby,.. 70/49 x 1,069,6468/1913 Richter 70/49 Assistant Examiner-Carl F. Pictruszka Attorney,Agent, or Firm-Melvin R. Stidham 1 ABSTRACT Disclosed is a cable woundonto a reel, with one component of a separable combination lock deviceon the end thereof, the other component being carried on the reelhousing. A ratchet wheel is secured to the reel, and a pawl is normallybiased out of engagement with the ratchet to extend through an openingin the housing. When the lock components are engaged, the pawl is forcedinto engagement with the ratchet wheel whereby the cable may not beextended further.

5 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures US Patent Sept. 23,1975

FIG-2- FIG-3- COMBINATION CABLE LOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Manyitems of personal property, such as bicycles, skis and the like arenecessarily left unattended at times and are subject to theft. Becauseof the vast numbers of many'such' items, they are, when stolen,extremely difficult to trace. Accordingly, when such articles are leftunattended, it is highly desirable to make the theft thereof difficultif not impossible. In the case of bicycles, it has been found desirableto carry a chain with locking means to securethe bicycle to a post orother convenient stationary member. Such chains and lock may be carriedon some paitof the bicycle when not in use.'However if used for theprotection of other articles, such as skis, it is necessary to carry thechain and lock on the person while the skier is on the'slopes.Accordingly, it "is desirable to have some locking device which is moreconveniently carried. A flexible shackle lock shown in US. Pat. No.2,933,915 has, to some extent, proved advantageous but the insertion andremoval of a key are essential steps'in the operation of the device andthe loss or unavailability of the key can, of course. render the lockingdevice useless.

OBJECTS OF TI IE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to providea locking device which may be conveniently carried and which isoperative to lock articles of personal property to stationary members.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a lock for securingarticles of personal property without requiring the use of a key.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a locking deviceincluding a cable which can be wrapped around an article of personalproperty to hold it snugly in place against a stationary member, andwhich cannot be extended.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe description to follow when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing.

SUMMARY OF THIS INVENTION In carrying out this invention, there isprovided a case or housing in which a reel is rotatably mounted. A cableis wound on the reel and extends from the reel through an opening in thehousing. A ratchet wheel is secured to the reel and, when engaged by acomplementary pawl, it is free to rotate in one direction only, to windthe cable further onto the reel, retracting the cable into the housingunder a spring force. One component of aseparable combination lock iscarried on the housing and the second component is carried on the end ofthe cable. Normally, the pawl is springbiased away from the ratchet sothat a portion thereof extends through an opening in the housingadjacent to the lock component thereon. However, when the other lockcomponent is inserted into place it engages the pawl and biases it intoengagement with the ratchet whereby further extension of the cable isimpossible. The reel is spring-biased in a cable-retracting directionwhereby release of the cable, after the lock is placed, will retract thecable firmly around the article of personal property being secured.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The Embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 with greater particularity, the cablelock 10 of this invention comprises a housing 12 in which a cable reel14 is'rotatably mounted. On the drum 16 .of the reel 14 is wound a cable20 of steel or the likewhich extends out through an opening 21 in thehousing "12. The reel 14 may be" rotatably carried on a stationary-shaft22 which is secured in place against rotation by extending squared ends24 thereof into complementaryopenings in the walls 18 of the housing 12.Suitable means such as a coil spring 26 extending'between the shaft 22,or other stationary member, andthe 'reel 14 tends to bias the reelrotatably in a direction to wind the cable 20 more fully onto the reeldrum 16 and, hence, to retract the cable into thehousing 12.

As shown, one side '28 of'the reel 14 is formed as a ratchet wheelhaving teeth 29 thereon which are engagable by a spring pawl 30 which,in its normal condition, is biased to extend through an opening 32 inthe bottom of the housing 12 and free of the teeth 29 on the ratchetwheel 28.

On the end of the cable 20 there is preferably provided a swivel device,such as a ball and socket joint 34 supporting the male component 36 of aconventional, separable combination lock 38 of the type found on certainbicycle chain locks. In such locks, the male member 36 is held in placewithin the female member 40 by turning numbered dials 42 out of apredetermined, unlocked position. It is only when the dials are turnedto free lugs 44 on the male component 36, that it may be removed fromthe female component lock. When themale component 36 is inserted intothe lock 36, it engages under the spring pawl 33 and biases it upwardinto engagement with the teeth 29 of the ratchet wheel 28. Hence, aslong as the male component 36 is so engaged, the ratchet wheel may berotated only in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 to wind thecable 20 more fully onto the reel drum 19.

In operation, the lock dials 42 are turned to their open combinationpositions and the male component 36 is removed from the female component40 of the lock. Then, the cable 20 is extended and wrapped around boththe article of personal property such as a pair of skis, a bicycle orthe like, and a fixed pole or other stationary member to which thepersonal property is to be locked. Then, the lock 38 is again engagedand the cable is allowed to retract under force of the coil spring 26until the item of personal property and the stationary member are snuglyembraced. The swivel connection 20 permits rotation of the lockcomponent 36 on the cable to facilitate mating with the female component40. As previously described, engagement of the lock components willresult in engagement of the pawl with the teeth of the ratchet toprevent extension of the cable until such time as the male component ofthe lock is again removed. When the combination dials 42 are rotatedaway from their open combination positions. the article of personalproperty is relatively secure against theft.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the coil spring 26 is replaced by a tensionspring 48 which may be secured between the reel 14a and some stationarypart of the housing 12. Preferably, the spring 48 is carried on the sideof the reel 14a away from the ratchet wheel so as to insure that therewill be no interference with the pawl member 30. An advantage of thestructure of FIG. 4 is that it enables the diameter of the reel drum 16ato be minimized whereby the length and/or diameter of the cable 20 maybe maximized without increasing the size of the housing.

While this invention has been described in conjunction with preferredembodiments thereof, it is obvious that modifications and changestherein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed as invention is:

l. A cable lock comprising:

a housing;

a reel rotatably carried in said housing;

a ratchet wheel coaxially carried on said reel;

a cable wound on said reel and extending outside of said housing;

a first component of a separable combination lock device on the end ofsaid cable;

the complementary component of said separable lock device being carriedon the housing;

a pawl on said housing engagable with said ratchet wheel to enablerotation thereof only in the direction to retract said cable into saidhousing;

means normally biasing said pawl out of engagement with said ratchetwheel to extend through an opening in said housing adjacent to saidcomplementary lock component;

said pawl being engagable through said opening by said first said lockcomponent when it is operatively engaged with said complementarycomponent to hold said pawl against the teeth of said ratchet wheel.

2. The cable lock defined by claim 1 including:

spring means biasing said reel toward said unidirectional rotation.

3. The cable lock defined by claim 2 wherein:

said spring means comprises a coil spring connected between said reeland said housing.

4. The cable lock defined by claim 1 including:

a swivel connection between said cable and said first lock component.

5. The cable lock defined by claim 4 wherein said swivel connectionenables:

complete rotation of said first lock component about

1. A cable lock comprising: a housing; a reel rotatably carried in saidhousing; a ratchet wheel coaxially carried on said reel; a cable woundon said reel and extending outside of said housing; a first component ofa separable combination lock device on the end of said cable; thecomplementary component of said separable lock device being carried onthe housing; a pawl on said housing engagable with said ratchet wheel toenable rotation thereof only in the direction to retract said cable intosaid housing; means normally biasing said pawl out of engagement withsaid ratchet wheel to extend through an opening in said housing adjacentto said complementary lock component; said pawl being engagable throughsaid opening by said first said lock component when it is operativelyengaged with said complementary component to hold said pawl against theteeth of said ratchet wheel.
 2. The cable lock defined by claim 1including: spring means biasing said reel toward said unidirectionalrotation.
 3. The cable lock defined by claim 2 wherein: said springmeans comprises a coil spring connected between said reel and saidhousing.
 4. The cable lock defined by claim 1 including: a swivelconnection between said cable and said first lock component.
 5. Thecable lock defined by claim 4 wherein said swivel connection enables:complete rotation of said first lock component about said cable.